“Je reviens en trois jours, ne te laves pas!”
The name of the classic perfume by the house of Worth (Je Reviens, 1932) was based on a letter sent by Napoleon to Josephine. A great classic, but the scent apparently has nothing to do with the natural odor of the empress. Now, there’s a new project inspired by this famous note to recreate Josephine’s odor. I don’t know much about it but trying to figure out who’s going to create the scent. The perfumer has to be excellent in classic French perfumery, that’s for sure. What else? Well, this is the kind of idea that makes me (=straight, dirty minded) wild, and I would like the perfumer to have the same degree of excitement. So, if I’m allowed to select the candidates, they are Dominique Ropion (IFF), Maurice Roucel (Symrise), Alberto Morillas (Firmenich).
I will follow up with more detailed information later.
Nobi
I am in complete agreement with you on the three perfumers you’ve selected. One person who would be perfect (although this is just a fantasy, since he has passed away many years ago) is Henri Almeras. All of the stories I’ve heard about him point to the fact that he would share the same degree of excitement. Guy Robert once told me a story of being asked by Almeras to help him recreate a perfume he composed to impressed a lady who came to his studio. Almeras mixed a few things, the fragrance turned out to be quite beautiful, but after the blonde was gone, he could not remember how it was composed, because he did not write down the formula!
I am anticipating more details!
Victoria, it’s really a blast to see the author’s naughty side in his/her creation. For example, I would shout and scream with joy when I smell that in Sophia’s mods. So, were they able to recreate the Blonde Ambition?
I believe that they have, although Guy Robert could not remember what perfume was or whether it was even marketed.
I love that aspect of Alberto Morillas’s work, especially when it resurfaces from underneath a very elegant heart. It is as if the layers of clothes are being peeled off.
Aha, there you go! You’re good.
Sophia once did character analyses of Firmenich perfumers from their creations. It was quite amazing what she could tell from other’s work. What she said about Alberto was, “He really loves women.” and that’s exactly who he is.
I would chose Maurice Roucel. Josephine was in love with all the musky notes. In french she was called “la folle du musc”. Roucel does amazing things with this kind of notes + everything that is sweet-vanilla-oriental and a little bit dirty. I visited once the empress chateau Malmaison, with all the roses and carnations that Napoleon planted for her. Besides the musky-civet and exotic-overpowering smells Josephine loved, there is also a kind of perfume that reminded her, at least at the begginig of the century. Oeillet Malmaison was a type of carnation fragrance, very popular 100 years ago.
Je reviens, though the smell has nothing to do with that letter, with its narcissus-salycilate note, if I remember well can have a touch of dirty sexyness with the animalic-cresol notes of that flower:))
My vote goes to Roucel for that very reason that Octavian described above. Roucel can do “skank”, I know he can.
Nobi, I’m contemplating naughty and nice. There was the thing you put up about Vulva … but that seems to be, uh, for a different market.
Then there’s the new Etat line, which V’s been blogging on. Some of the names are just slightly provocative (Jasmin et Cigarette), some more so (Putain de Palaces), even MORE so (Secretions Magnifiques) — and now I guess there’s one called…. are you ready? … “Don’t Get Me Wrong Baby, I Don’t Swallow” is by Antoine Maisondieu, and features jasmine, aldehydes, lily of the valley, orange blossom, amber solar accord, patchouli, cacao and marshmallow. (name and notes info lifted from Now Smell This.) In this particular case, I feel like the name is provocative but the scent doesn’t sound particularly sensual… what do you think of this?
Octavian,
thanks for providing a historical perspective!
I agree about Maurice Roucel. Although he is not my favorite type of perfumer, Maurice Roucel is definitely calling out.
I don’t know if the project is aiming at the pungent musk which the Empress loved to use to mask her natural odor, or if it’s aiming at the fermenting odor of herself. Either way, I’d like to see a contemporary twist in the result.
I suppose a historian will play a big roll in this kind of project and hope I’m not getting nosy about a project that you might be involved in
Marina,
I know you like Roucel, but be careful with him! He has a reputation for… you know
A pic of him for you:
http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/photos/4553706.html?npic=27
March,
I agree Vulva is a different market, but I mentioned it because it reminded me of headspace technology, something that I want to use for my next project.
I dont’ know anything about the other ones that you mentioned, but I’m one of the idiots (if not the first) who started to play with names in this kind of direction, and I feel I have to say something…
As for my S-Perfumes, I was (they will continue to be sold, but the project is finished) just doing it for fun. There was no marketing, no financial goal, and so it wasn’t too difficult to push the limits of the creative process by the perfumers, not just how I named the scents. I suppose these other newcomers are serious businesses, and I wonder how much of a risk they can take with the composition of the scent. The name is not a problem because people will get used to strange names pretty quickly, but if they are not familiar with the scent, it will take some time, or forever before getting used to it. This is a big problem if the company is trying to make a good profit from the scent.
That is why it takes a genius like Sophia Grojsman to achieve both together, to push the envelope and create a major hit.
Nobi,
A handsome, distinguished perfumer like him has no time of the day for a little blogger like me. 
No need for you to worry about me not being careful.
Hmmm… Marina, I’m wondering if you mixed up right and left. Or, maybe you are a woman with extremely distinguished taste
)
(Oh, and I should worry. He knows his priority and always has time for that